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Re: Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran … War
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Originally Posted by Damien
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https://wapo.st/3WfAQTJ
Quote:
Israel downgraded Britain’s 188-year-old consulate in East Jerusalem on Thursday, expelling 20 diplomats and scaling back services to Palestinians, but stopped short of closing the facility entirely after last-minute negotiations.
Israel had ordered the consulate closed last month in retaliation for British sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which most countries consider illegal under international law. The consulate handles Britain’s relations with Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, separate from its embassy in Tel Aviv.
The consulate will become a “U.K. mission,” lacking a consulate general but still operating with a smaller staff.
“The UK Mission, Jerusalem is independent, operational, and will continue to deliver vital services and our work with the Palestinian people,” Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said in a statement.
The compromise heads off what could have been a major escalation in the diplomatic row, amid reports that the U.K. could in turn expel Israeli officials from London.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar blamed the souring relations on Britain’s Labour government, which has condemned Israeli military actions in Gaza, placed sanctions on settlers and recognized a Palestinian state.
Miliband said last month that expanding settlements in the West Bank amounted to “ethnic cleansing.”
“We did not want to reach this point, but the actions of the Labour government brought us here,” Saar said on X.
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